1) Economy adds 88,000 jobs as unemployment rate falls to 6.6%: StatCan ;2) Ontario Insolvency Trends: Ontario Insolvency Filings Continue to Climb(see warning signs); 3)Student debt: Most OSAP growth came from career college students, documents show

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Craig Lord,  June 5, 2026

The labour market rebounded with a surprise gain of 88,000 jobs in May, partially offsetting a bigger drop in employment since the start of the year, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The agency said the unemployment rate fell to 6.6 per cent in May, down from 6.9 per cent in April.

StatCan said May’s gains were the first significant increase in employment since November 2025. The economy had shed 112,000 net jobs in the first four months of 2026.

Economists had broadly expected a more modest gain of 10,000 jobs in May and that the unemployment rate would hold steady.

Growth last month was concentrated in full-time work, StatCan said, and was widespread across industries.

Construction led the way with a gain of 27,000 jobs, followed by the information, culture and recreation sector and the transportation and warehousing industry. Tariff-sensitive manufacturing also posted job gains in May.

The wholesale and retail trade sector took the heaviest hit with a loss of 35,000 positions in the month.

Average hourly wages rose three per cent in May, down from 4.5 per cent in April.

StatCan said youth are seeing a better start to the summer job season this year compared with a tough labour market in 2025.

Young workers aged 15 to 24 added 99,000 full-time positions in May and the age group’s jobless rate fell for the first time since January. The youth unemployment rate stands at 13.4 per cent in May, still above the pre-pandemic average of 10.8 per cent.

The May jobs report marks the last major economic data release before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision on Wednesday.

StatCan reported a week ago that economic growth stalled in the first quarter, though the agency’s flash estimates suggested real gross domestic product was on the rise again to start the second quarter.

Many economists have said recent economic weakness doesn’t yet rise to the bar of a recession despite GDP declining for two consecutive quarters.

2)Ontario Insolvency Trends: Ontario Insolvency Filings Continue to Climb (see warning signs)

Money is on a lot of people’s minds these days.

Across Ontario, more residents are struggling with debt, rising costs, and mortgage payments.

Financial pressure remains a reality for many Ontario households.

Recent figures show insolvency filings are increasing across the province, with thousands of residents seeking help as they deal with mounting debt and affordability challenges.

Financial experts say rising living costs, higher interest rates, and mortgage renewals continue to put pressure on family budgets.

While bankruptcy often gets the most attention, professionals stress that it isn’t the only option available.

Many people find relief through debt consolidation plans or consumer proposals, which can help reduce financial stress while avoiding bankruptcy.

The key message from experts is simple: seek help early.

Warning Signs Your Debt May Be Becoming Unmanageable

Financial difficulties rarely happen overnight.

Experts say several warning signs can indicate that debt is becoming difficult to manage:

The earlier someone addresses these issues, the more options they typically have available.

Licensed insolvency trustees often encourage people to seek advice before their financial situation becomes overwhelming.

Mortgage Renewals Creating New Challenges

Many homeowners are also facing higher monthly payments as mortgages come up for renewal.

While homeowners who secured low rates several years ago may have enjoyed manageable payments, today’s interest rates can significantly increase monthly costs.

Financial professionals say this is contributing to rising mortgage delinquency rates in some parts of the province.

As a result, many families are reassessing budgets and looking for ways to reduce expenses wherever possible.

3)Most OSAP growth came from career college students, documents show

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Allison Jones, June 5, 2026.

When Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government drastically cut student assistance grants earlier this year, it cited “unsustainable” costs, but new figures show nearly all of the recent growth was among career college students.

Data obtained by The Canadian Press through a freedom-of-information request shows that between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years, the province spent $465 million more on Ontario Student Assistance Program grants, and 95 per cent of that went to private career college students.

That points to a problem of the government’s own making and the solution did not have to penalize students at universities and publicly funded colleges, opposition critics said.

“Doug Ford used the rising cost of OSAP as his excuse to gut student aid, slashing the grant portion from 85 per cent down to 25 per cent and leaving students to take on more debt,” Liberal critic for colleges and universities Tyler Watt wrote in a statement.

“These numbers show that excuse doesn’t hold up.”

When students apply for Ontario financial aid they are also assessed for federal assistance, and the new data shows that while overall both the Ontario and federal portions of what students have been receiving are on the rise, one category stands out.

University students received about $370 million in Ontario Student Grants in 2023-24, an amount that actually decreased the following year to about $354 million. Students at publicly funded colleges received $349 million in 2023-24 and $386 million the next year. Canada Student Grants rose at relatively similar paces.

Career college students, however, received about $554 million in Ontario Student Grants in 2023-24, and the following year they received about $994 million.

That is more than the amount of Ontario Students Grants for public college and university students combined.

During the same time period, the amount of Canada Student Grants those same students received was far lower, and was a smaller relative increase, from $201 million in 2023-24 to $338 million the next year.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said with most of the increase coming in career college usage, it looks like the government was just looking for an excuse to cut all OSAP spending.

“I think they were unwilling to only make cuts that impacted their friends at the private career colleges,” she said.

“It just shows me that they never actually explored options that would have saved the program, and it’s students that are going to pay the price.”

Nolan Quinn, right, Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, tours a U of T robotics and research lab with engineering students at the University of Toronto in Toronto on Monday, March 9, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn earlier this year announced that career college students would no longer be eligible for OSAP grants, following similar federal changes, but he also made sweeping changes to financial aid for university and college students, citing unsustainability.

The proportion of non-repayable grants a student can receive through OSAP was reduced from 85 per cent to a maximum of 25 per cent.

Students and advocates said the greater emphasis on loans to fund their education would leave students graduating with much higher levels of debt amid an affordability crisis.

The College Student Alliance, which represents students at four publicly funded colleges, said the new data raises important questions.

“Grant funding for students at private career colleges appears to have grown much faster year over year than funding for students at publicly funded colleges,” the alliance wrote in a statement.

“Students deserve to know what evidence is informing OSAP policy changes, how impacts are being tracked, and whether support is being delivered fairly across the system.”

Until 2017, the grant and loan ratio was 15 to 85 per cent, with then-premier Kathleen Wynne flipping the ratio late in her tenure.

The province’s auditor general in 2018 said that the province projected a 50-per-cent increase in net annual costs of OSAP due to those changes, to $2 billion in 2020-21. Provincial spending on OSAP grants is only just now reaching that level, however, due to a drop in demand during the pandemic.

Government projections show the grant spending rising to $2.7 billion by 2028-29, but would not say how much of that would be due to private career college students and those at publicly funded institutions.

The auditor made no specific conclusion that the spending was unsustainable, but she found that even that sharp rise was likely underestimated, since the ministry did not factor in increased uptake.

Quinn said there has been significant growth at private career colleges, but also at publicly funded colleges, and the government needed to act to rein in spending.

“As the auditor general stated, when the changes were made in 2017 it was unsustainable,” he said recently at the legislature. “We want to ensure it’s available for the next generation of students as well.”

Career colleges often have higher tuition levels and a recent freedom-of-information request on OSAP by the Trillium found that in 2024-25, university and college students received $5,500 to $7,000 on average in grants, while career college students received more than $15,000 on average.

Quinn’s OSAP announcement was made along with news of $6.4 billion over four years for colleges and universities, funding that the sector had long urged after years of low levels when compared to other provinces.

That became critical after federal government changes to immigration removed much of the ability for the institutions, particularly colleges, to get large amounts of revenue from international students, who pay higher tuition.